All Posts Tagged With: "social justice"

We are pleased to make readers aware of a new book, just released, called, “Change Of Heart: What Psychology Can Teach Us About Spreading Social Change.” This book, by author Nick Cooney,  looks at 80 years of scientific research conducted on human psychology and related fields, and distills that research down into practical tips that environmental organizations and other non-profits can use to more effectively persuade the public and create social change.

Cooney is the founder and director of The Humane League, an animal advocacy organization based in Philadelphia, PA that focuses on farm animal protection issues.

“Change Of Heart” provides science-based answers to many questions that are hotly debated among environmentalists. For example, is it better to encourage the public to adopt small, simple changes (like using CFL light bulbs) or to ask for more major life-altering changes (like getting rid of one’s car)? What messages and techniques have been proven to succeed in reducing home energy use and increase recycling? And what role does “green consumerism” play in helping – or harming – the environmental movement?

We already have the information, the expertise, and the technology to make the shift to a clean-energy, environmentally-restorative economy. There are plenty of smart people working on this front. Behavior change, and even making the case for this as a preferable course of action, have a bit of catching up to do. That’s why we are so excited about books like this one and the Heath brothers’ “Switch.” Here is an excerpt:

Narrow Their Options

When a farmer is trying to herd animals from a larger area into a smaller one, they’ll often create a chute that starts wide and gets narrower and narrower. Similarly, when we are trying to get someone to take an action it is helpful to narrow their options. Offering people too many choices will make them more likely to choose nothing at all. A study of eight hundred thousand workers found that the number of retirement funds offered by an employer was inversely related to the number of workers that signed up for any retirement fund (Iyengar, Huberman and Jiang). The more retirement fund options they were given, the less likely workers were to choose any fund—which probably had negative consequences for workers and their families.

In another study, student participants were presented with two hypothetical choices for what they could do that evening:  study in the library or attend a lecture by an author they admired who was in town for one night only. Only twenty-one percent chose to study, with seventy-nine percent choosing to the more enjoyable activity. In the second round of this study, participants were given three options:  the library option, the author option and also the option to watch a foreign film they had wanted to see. In this second study, forty percent of participants decided to study, with sixty percent choosing one of the more enjoyable activities. Giving students two good alternatives to studying made them less likely to choose either alternative (Redelmeier and Shafir 1995).

In trying to get people to do something positive, we’re often tempted to give them an array of choices based on the idea that the more choices they have, the more likely they’ll find one of them acceptable. Environmental campaigners might provide a list of twenty-five different things a person can do to help protect the planet. Gay rights groups might create a similar list of actions people can take to promote equality. Health organizations might create a long list of foods rich in vitamins and minerals that should be part of a healthy diet. The research suggests that these groups would be more successful if they focused instead on promoting a few key actions.

Activists should also be aware that there is a big difference between education meant to stimulate thought and education meant to stimulate action. There are many shades of grey to every issue, and the more we think about an issue the more complexities we will see. If we are a college professor and our goal is to hone our students’ critical thinking abilities, then ongoing discussion that examines every aspect of an issue is a good thing. But if we as activists are trying to educate people in order to motivate them to do something, then our communications need to simplify the issue and call for clear, specific action. We need to eliminate distractions and narrow options.

We will feature more excerpts soon. In the meantime, you can read more on the book’s website.

We don’t always remember that social justice plays a key role in sustainability. One of the underlying assumptions of the modern world is that we can throw something we no longer want “away.” Well, there is no “away.” This planet is designed as an exquisitely intricate, interconnected web of life. And we are as much a part of that web as eagles and mushrooms.

As Van Jones, founder of the green-jobs advocacy group Green for All, has observed, there are no throwaway people, either. Our modern criminal justice system has not exactly gotten this message. One of the unexamined assumptions in this complex system is that some people are just too bad to be in society; they need to be locked up and forgotten. Essentially, thrown away.

Lauren Abramson, founder of the Community Conferencing Center, doesn’t buy it. Their work is based on the simple premise that people have the wisdom and compassion to resolve their own conflicts, given the right setting and subtle guidance. In fact, as you will see from watching this video, Conferences have a very high rate of success and the parties involved have quite low rates of re-offending. Conferences are also profound for the participants, binding them together through shared experience.

On a recent trip, I read a fascinating article in the October 2009, “Environmental Building News,” called “Building for People: Integrating Social Justice Into Green Design.” Being the mindset-tool junkie that I am, I was particularly drawn to the discussion of a tool called LENSES (Living Environments in Natural, Social, and Economic Systems), being developed by Dr. Josie Plaut at the Institute for the Built Environment at Colorado State University.

LENSES looks to be an excellent tool for cultivating awareness of the interconnectedness of elements, from big-picture foundational principles, to human needs and impacts, to environmental flows. As I read, I kept seeing the applicability not only to building projects, but to any human enterprise, including your business.

Plaut sees the potential for the tool to change the way we think. We tend to look at enterprises, whether buildings or businesses, as static and self-contained. Yet, they are actually hubs for flows of natural resources, people, and ideas. Plaut’s words: “What makes a place living is not the notion that it has a net-zero impact but rather its relationship to others and the flows through the system.”

It gets even better. Can you imagine your business as not only symbiotic with natural systems but as a filter for all that flows through it? “What if things are better coming out that they are going in?” Plaut asks. This simple question can dramatically change the way you think about your business, the opportunities you see, and the decisions you make.

Want to learn more about how to transform your business to be good for the earth? My FR.EE 75-minute audioseminar, “How to Overcome Green Overload in Your Small Business: 5 Steps for Cutting Through the Clutter,” explains clearly and simply how to start greening your business right away!

This is your chance to learn all about:

• The essential questions you MUST ask yourself before you go green
• The astonishing power of a green mindset
• The 4 must-haves of creating a sustainable green vision for your company
• My ground-breaking 5-step model for creating a green business

AND I’ll work with you to create your first green business plan right on the call!

Join me Thursday, November 12 at 4 PM Eastern (that’s 3 PM Central, 2 PM Mountain, 1 PM Pacific), and you’ll be on your way to an eco-inspired business. Follow this link to register.

Wildness reminds us what it what it means to be human, what we are connected to rather than what we are separate from.  Terry Tempest Williams

World Day of Interconnectedness is September 9.

I’m going to get personal here. Many of you who know my work and teaching will probably not be surprised by this: I am obsessed with connection. My business, fundamentally, is all about discovering, cultivating, and restoring connections at many levels: to the living world, to other people, to communities, to meaning, to the arts, to craft, to great ideas, to myself.

Reflecting on this recently, I saw that one of my ah-ha moments about sustainable design came in 1989, at a lecture by the great Australian architect Glenn Murcutt . His work demonstrates the profound beauty and sense of connection that is possible when you ask the right questions. It is rooted in a deep reverence for and experience of the natural world. People who live in his houses routinely talk about the unique, profound connection they feel to the outdoors, quite unlike other buildings in our modern world.

Aren’t we all, consciously or unconsciously, longing for that deep, peaceful sense of connection? I know I am. It has driven me for the last 20 years, often to unexpected places. That sustainable design and green business is my lens and medium is no mere coincidence. It fits me because it marries meaning with cultural expression, vision with practical action, spirit and matter. It is grounded in the laws of the physical world, its harsh realities AND its sublime truths. A life spent trying to understand and model how nature does it is the most exciting thing I can imagine.

That’s why when announcements like this one come to my inbox, I jump at the chance to spread the word. A World Day of Interconnectedness? Why not!? From the website : "A deep sense of interconnectedness, or oneness, is at the core of decisions and actions that are life affirming and good for the whole. In other words, it will bring forth an environmentally sustainable, fulfilling and socially just human presence."

This is a global 24-hour event with a focus on celebrating interconnectedness. The intent is to manifest and attract more of what we want on a global scale: a greater sense of interconnectedness as a foundation for a world that works for all life.

It’s simple: On 090909 in every country at 9 AM in every time zone (starting in New Zealand), all people who are aware of interconnectedness and who are committed to translate that awareness into action are invited to practice interconnectedness as much as possible throughout that day. There are a bunch of wonderful suggestions of practices you can do in the areas of ecological sustainability, social justice, and spiritual fulfillment. Many of us strive to practice our awareness every day, and usually fall short (speaking for myself). This is a chance to be fully conscious and to tap into the world-wide juice of so many with the same intention.

Please post a comment here about your experience with this. It would be wonderful to hear how it went.

Recently, we started in earnest to learn all we can about the blogging world, including how to increase our site traffic so we can continue to offer GOforChange to our community and the wider world. Naturally, we enrolled in Upstart Blogger’s 30-Day Blogging Course . We are known mostly within our own networks, where we reliably preach to the converted. But what about people who are just waking up to environmental and economic challenges? With our expertise, wealth of information, online forums, calendar, and marketplace, we are determined to reach a wider audience.

We started GOforChange in early 2008 to help spread the word about the growing sustainability , local food , social justice, and greening movement in the Baltimore area. A blog was the right format to share information about upcoming events, volunteers opportunities, advice, and all the organizations and businesses in our area that are working for a better world. We are always learning about new things — community gardens, energy auditors, local artisans, schools — and the list of topics keeps growing. We continue to believe that reliable information about local resources is valuable to people who want to know how they can make a difference in their daily lives and communities.

As of Day 5 of the course, we have already learned much about social networks, Technorati rankings , Google Analytics, and reaching out to like-minded blogs. We are shifting our posts to offer more advice, musings, and stories from Julie’s work as a green architect and sustainability consultant, and Alyssa’s hands-on artistry in urban gardening, composting, and other DIY projects. Interspersed with posts about Baltimore-area topics, these will have a broad appeal beyond our geographic region. The Upstart Blogger course is something we probably should have taken six months ago, but back then we just didn’t realize how much we don’t know! Stay tuned for updates on our progress.

Collective Cry is an online community of artists, activists and allies of social justice. They are dedicated to uplifting and providing healing to systemically oppressed communities through education, community development, economic development and the distribution of media content. "Collective Cry envisions a social environment in which all have access to the means to reach their potential for self-actualization through self-determination." Some of their justice initiatives and other developing economic and awareness initiatives include "Prison Mentorship Project", "My Quest Home" and "The Center for Prosperity".

Chesapeake Habitat for Humanity is a “non-profit housing organization that works in partnership with families in need of housing to build simple, decent and affordable homes. Houses are sold to qualified homebuyers at no profit through no-interest mortgage loans.” CHHumanity has completed more than 120 homes and has housed more than 300 families. There are job opportunities, internships and school programs to help any person at any age get involved and be a part of strengthening all Baltimore communities. You can also help by donating recycled building supplies or buying goods for your own home improvement project from the ReStore . 100% of purchases go toward the next Chesapeake Habitat for Humanity project.